DVD Review

Julie & Julia (2009)

Reviewed by Chris Nashawaty | Nov 24, 2009

Chris Nashawaty

Chris Nashawaty is a senior writer for EW, and author of EW.com's DVD Insomniac column

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EW's GRADE

B-

Details Release Date: Aug 07, 2009; Rated: PG-13; DVD Release Date: Dec 08, 2009; Genres: Biopic, Drama; With: Amy Adams and Meryl Streep

Image credit: Jonathan Wenk

UPPER CRUSTACEAN Amy Adams meets her match in Julia & Julia

Julie & Julia is half of a great movie. Meryl Streep is deliciously zesty as the larger-than-life chef Julia Child — the woman who brought fine cuisine to the masses decades before Top Chef turned slicing and dicing into a populist spectator sport. And Stanley Tucci is aces as her adoring husband. Too bad their beautiful love story keeps getting interrupted by Amy Adams' Julie Powell, a whiny drip who blogs about her quest to cook her way through her idol's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Think of writer-director Nora Ephron's film as a soufflé that collapses under the weight of its own gimmicky structure. EXTRAS include a commentary from foodie Ephron and a ho-hum behind-the-scenes feature. As for the film, it deserves two grades: Adams' Julie earns a C- and Streep's Julia earns an A-.

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Originally posted Nov 24, 2009 Published in issue #1078 Dec 04, 2009 Order article reprints

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